Dog found dead, bound, tied to tree
West Newbury, MA (US)Incident Date: Monday, Feb 19, 2007
County: Essex
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
The grisly discovery of a mutilated animal near the Rogers Street bridge has neighbors spooked and police investigating.
"I'm getting the dogs in early at night," said Pat O'Keefe, who is house-sitting for friends on Rogers Street as well as watching their dogs, Abby and Mattie. O'Keefe said West Newbury police officers told him the animal looked like a goat and appeared to be "tortured."
Police said they could not comment on the investigation on Feb 22. The Methuen office of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the incident had been reported and it is investigating.
A Newburyport man found the animal - which was tied by its hind legs to a tree - while snowshoeing several hundred yards south of the bridge on Feb 19. He said the animal was the size of a sheep and that its front legs had been cut off. Unsure if the carcass was a hunter's bait, he did not report the body until Feb 21.
The carcass was frozen solid and had been picked at by birds, suggesting it had been there for some time. But the animal's mutilated forelegs and bound hindquarters were disturbing.
"I was hoping it was something that wasn't as gruesome as it seemed," said Hugh Kelleher, who found the animal. "Maybe there was an explanation."
The Rogers Street bridge joins two banks of the Artichoke Reservoir, separating it into upper and lower parts. Cross country ski tracks and several groups of footprints were visible heading south over the ice, toward the area where Kelleher said he found the carcass. The bridge is visible from a few houses on Rogers Street, but most homes are set back behind trees. O'Keefe and other people in the area said they had not heard anything out of the ordinary recently.
Bruce Colby maintains a dairy farm with cows and calves near the bridge. Colby said he was aware of the mutilation but had no further comment.
O'Keefe said he is making sure to lock the doors at night and to keep Abby and Mattie safe. But Abby, who barks ferociously at visitors, would not go down without a fight, he said.
"Abby's got a mind of her own," O'Keefe said. References« MA State Animal Cruelty Map
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